The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1887-10-14

fIERRE. DAKOTA, Oct- >, 1851.
Being under the impression that !
few Thoughts in regard TO the Oak ot&
Territorial Fair wopld be acceptable TO
the many readers of the Courier, l will
give tho proceedings or day At the
Third Annual Fair. which was held this
year q Mitchell, d.. T.
Mitchell Il one among the growing
cities Of the West, end is surrounded BY
. grand and beautiful country. The
fair grounds, shout one mile from the
city, contains 40 acres and although
lacking In the forest trees that adorn
grounds in Indiana. II u made attractive
BY the large and commodious bniIdings
Wednesday morning dense fog pre-
vailed. which seemed for : time as
though the day would be very unfavor-
able for the visitor, but about 10 O'Clock
Il cleared away. and I never beheld .
more perfect day, and a. result, The ex.
cursion trains from every direction were
crowded TO overflowing- Thousands or
people thronged the streets and Fair
grounds, all alive seemingly, with the
spirit of enjoyment The special fes-
ture OF the forenoon was the exhibition
" HtVIAs uuu tuC 8ttcuo8uSc 80 t8b So
while ID the afternoon the crowd Was
simply immense.
Thursday dswhed bright and fair, and
being Dskota's day, the people turned
enmasse, the principal attrsction being
the presence Of Gov. Church and his
staff, and the address Of Hon. Mf. Allen,
OF Michigan. The Governor arrived
about IL O'Clock. q. m, and was met 81
the train by President Bliss, Co. /, ae an
escort, and the Aberdeen band. About
2 o'clock they arrived on the Fair
grounds. where il was said fully 10000
people had gathered, al eager to catch
the words OF the eloquence - they fell
from the lips Of those cultured gentle
men.
Az TO the country exhibi II embraced
81 kinds Of seeds, grains, vegetables.
clover, alfalfa, broom corn
osage, orange hedge, &c. &C. heard
parties from different portions Of the
East ssy they never saw. q finer exhibit
1t any of their State Fairs. than was
made BY the Territory Of Dakots. There
were several halls al well filed, chow
ing 10 the visitor what could be done in|
fertile fields by simply breaking the sod
and planting the seed.
There was spIendid showing cf each
product exhibited. and l am certain its|
equal has never been produced even inl
TIE great expositions OF the Eastern|
States. There were many varieties OF
corn. and many Of immense size, with
All the kernels folly developed There
Was also good showing Of wheat and
pats. The vegetable lsy out was insrvel-l
ous TO behold. In fact never saw any,
hing to compare with them in sire. and
Tor the benefit Of the reader will give|
he weights Of some Noticed. Cabbagel
heads, for instance, weighing 2ll lbs
Pumpkins bringing down the scales toI
l69 lbs. One pumpkin which bloomedl
July 80, 1857, being therefore only twoI
old. weighed 1872 lbs. Squashes|
100 lbs. Musk melons 90 lbe. Early!
r0se potatoes, which no doubt mayl
|ound unreasonable to the reader, but isl
IN actual fact, weighing ~ lbs Oninns
lbs, and variety Of beets Of MANI
moth sire. But one that capped the cli-
max was grown in Hughes county, and
weighed 81 lbs; measured IS inches
lround and was nearly eight feet long. /
Pie melons. turnips, peppers, watermel-l
,ns, cucumbers, &C., &C., were all q w0n-l
Ter to behold, owing to their immense
lie. While il is said that fruits will
Iot do well 10 Dakota, the orchard prof.,
luct department wrs grand 10 every re-
pect. Some ss fine apples @ are grown,
10y where were here on exhibition % the
ruits OF Clay county, Dakota The ALL
|erman fruit farm, which embraces 140Il
cres, I'll ia orchard, made { grand dis
yIay Of apples. crabs, grapes, piums, &C, |,
ebich speaks well for dakota in the way
Il fruit raising, alec. The Art Gallery, Ill
must not forget TO mention, As &c was all
,0wer OF beauty. Many handsome pain II
ings adorned it, walls. The fancy
york was not 10 Be exceIled by any|
,lacc.
There was splendid showing OIL,
took. 500 stalls being provided for cat
le and horses, and . walk around the |,
|rounds showed me they were al full OF,
i fine horses and cattle q the human
ye ever rested upon. The cattle show
vas just splendid, there being 325 entries
i thoroughbred cattle. Eighteen th0us-
nd dollars were given out In premiums.
Three hundred snd ffty dollars for the
,esf county exhibit. or al the attrac-
ions OF the fair grounds there va none
more cenepicious than the machineryI
md carriage department Racing was
be principal attraction Of each day
rhe amphitheaters we're crowded each
lay when the races were called and
more especially that Of the bicycle rac-l,
ng. No finer work on wheels wac everli
Witnessed than at the Fair grounds Il.
hero being twenty-scven in the ring.
rhc most interesting and attractive Of
he bicycle racing, was the one mile
mature and the one miIe professional, I,
|ashcs, which were for championship
'onors. The balloon ascension Was az
'crfcct success. Prof. Cones, the skill
81 aeronsut rising on the trapese 10
uch hight that his movements wereli
arely visible. Much more could bel,
aid In regard to the exhibit g the Ds-,
;ota Territorial! Fair. for We could have X
pent days looking around, and III yen-|
nre to say, would have seen somethingI Il
cw each day. I forgot TO mention at|i
be proper time, that H. N Mcdonald, 4